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In Thursday's post about the Big 12's to-do list, I added a quick line that read a little something like this:

"Truth be told, the Big 12 won't miss Missouri or Texas A&M nearly as bad as it will national power Nebraska."

That's based off Nebraska's fan support, first and foremost, which I still think is unrivaled in the Big 12.

Additionally, there's the winning factor. Nebraska's 43 conference titles and five national championships dwarf Texas A&M's 18 conference titles and one national title. Missouri also has 15 conference titles. Colorado had 26 conference titles and a national title.

A few of you disagreed that Nebraska would be missed most.

So, let's get all scientific* about this. Which team will you miss most?

Maybe it's their stadium. Maybe it's their fans. Maybe its the rivalry. But if you had to pick just one, who would you miss most?

Vote in our poll.

*not actually scientific

As the Omaha World-Herald's Tom Shatel notes, the week after Boise State's win against Virginia Tech has been full of "Don't like 'em? Beat 'em" talk from supporters of the Broncos national-title cause.

Well, according to Shatel, Nebraska tried.

In the past year, NU tried to put together a series with BSU; two-for-one, home-and-home, one-way trip to Lincoln. Whatever. It ended up fizzling out. Why?

Because, according to NU Assistant Athletic Director Jeff Jamrog, Boise wanted a minimum $1 million to play in Lincoln.

Teams will routinely pay FCS or non-AQ teams six figures to visit for an early season game. It makes no sense to pay seven figures to play a team that has shown it has the capability to beat you. How many more of these stories are out there? Who knows.

Boise's version of what happened isn't in the story, but Shatel tweeted that he's tried in the past.

"I called last year when this came up; AD never called back," Shatel wrote.

Texas led the Big 12 and ranked fourth in the nation with an average attendance of 101,175 during the 2009 season.

The NCAA released football attendance figures today, which you can review here.

The Big 12 ranked third among BCS conferences in attendance with an average of 62,875.

The SEC was No. 1 (76,288) and the Big Ten was second (71,769).

Five Big 12 teams ranked in the top 30: No. 10 Nebraska, No. 12 Oklahoma, No. 16 Texas A&M and No. 28 Missouri.

Three Big 12 teams produced top-30 attendance increases from 2008 to 2009: Oklahoma State (up 5,458, ninth-best increase); Texas (up 3,129, 17th best); and Baylor (up 2,182, 26th best).

Here are the Big 12 figures:

Texas... 101,175
Nebraska... 85,888
Oklahoma... 84,778
Texas A&M... 76,800
Missouri... 64,120
Oklahoma State... 53,719
Kansas... 50,581
Texas Tech... 50,249
Colorado... 50,088
Kansas State... 46,763
Iowa State... 46,242
Baylor... 36,306

Happy Monday. What's happening in the Big 12?

• Colorado has signed a safety from New Jersey, a 22nd member to its recruiting class. The best news is his name isn't "Snooki." Former running back Darrell Scott is considering a return.
• Kansas stars from different eras are teaming up.
• Missouri will open a Touchdown Terrace this fall.
• Why did Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson and coach Bo Pelini meet with athletic director Tom Osborne and former offensive line coach Milt Tenopir? And a Tom Shatel column on the matter.
• Oklahoma is hoping big things come in small packages at running back.
• What's the draft scuttlebutt on a couple of prospects late of Oklahoma State?
• Is Texas really part of the Big Ten's expansion plans? Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds thinks the Big 12 should play nine conference games instead of eight. He's not as keen on making conference revenue sharing equal because the Longhorns get a larger slice of the pie.
• Texas A&M is hoping for its special teams to be more special.
• By the way, where the heck is Mike Leach these days? And, with him gone, what will the Red Raiders' offense look like in 2010?

Lost amid the rumors about Texas talking with the Big Ten -- rumors that commissioner Jim Delany dismissed Friday -- were some interesting comments from Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne about the potential of Nebraska joining the league.

Osborne told the Lincoln Journal Star that while he hasn't heard from Delany or entered into any formal talks with another league, he'd listen if the phone rings in the coming weeks. Delany told WSCR radio that the Big Ten is still conducting an internal study that he hopes to complete by late spring or early summer.

"We haven't entered into any formal talks with anybody right now," Osborne said. "We're focusing on the Big 12. But I don’t think that means if somebody wanted to pick up the phone and call us, that we'd hang up on them. You listen."

When a league offers $17 to $20 million per year in television revenue, listening is the smart thing to do.

Nebraska isn't a home-run addition like Texas or Notre Dame, but it would add another traditional power in football to the league. Although the Huskers aren't what they were when Osborne coached, the program clearly is on the rise under Bo Pelini. Nebraska also fits geographically better than Texas, as Lincoln is less than 300 miles from Iowa City. The big drawback would be a small TV market and a state that doesn't produce a ton of FBS players.

Many folks have brought up good points about why Texas wouldn't leave the Big 12 for the Big Ten: rivalries, geography, success in the league, etc. Would the same reasons keep Nebraska in the conference? I'm not so sure. Nebraska hasn't benefited from the Big 12 nearly as much as Texas. Its rivalry with Oklahoma isn't the same as it used to be, and the Big 12's power clearly rests in the South division.

Here's what Osborne had to say:

“I would have to say the center of gravity has moved south. You’d have to say that trend to the south still continues to this day, which is a little concerning sometimes for people in the north part of the Big 12."

Nebraska likely would be much more interested in the Big Ten than Texas. But would the Big Ten want the Huskers? Time will tell.

It was a good day for the service academies as Navy's convincing 35-13 victory over Missouri came on the heels of Air Force's triumph over Houston.

There was nothing fluky about the Midshipmen's victory. Here's how they got it done.

Missouri looked ready to blow Navy out of Reliant Stadium after jumping ahead on the second play from scrimmage on a 58-yard toss from Blaine Gabbert to Danario Alexander. From that point forward, Navy bounced back and allowed the Tigers only a pair of field goals during the rest of the game as they were limited to 298 yards.

Turning point: After Missouri had pulled within 14-10 at the half, Navy answered with a 58-yard scoring drive to immediately seize momentum. Alexander Teich returned the second half kickoff for 46 yards to spark the drive. Navy converted a fourth-down play and punctuated a drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ricky Dobbs to Bobby Doyle to cap the drive.

Player of the game: Dobbs expertly sliced up the bigger Missouri defense to power the Midshipmen’s upset victory. Dobbs rushed 30 times for 166 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 130 yards and another score to lead Navy to its first bowl victory since the 2005 Poinsettia Bowl. Dobbs joins Craig Candeto from 2003 as the only Midshipmen to run and pass for more than 1,000 yards in a season.

Stat of the game: Navy dominated the game in the trenches as they controlled the ball for 40 minutes and 54 seconds. The punishing thrust enabled them to pile up 519 total yards and gash Missouri’s 12th-ranked rush defense for 385 yards in a convincing whipping.

Best call: Navy’s ground-based offensive attack opened up Dobbs’ passing abilities throughout the second half. Dobbs completed all of his second-half passes for 71 yards and a touchdown to help Navy put the game away. The biggest was a 47-yard strike to Marcus Curry on the first play from scrimmage in the fourth quarter that set up the Midshipmen's clinching touchdown.

Second guess: Trailing 21-10, Missouri appeared ready to score and keep the game close later in the third quarter. Missouri’s running game was clicking after accounting for 38 yards on seven previous attempts on the drive. But on third-and-goal from the Navy 2, Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert tried a pass and was sacked by Craig Schaefer for a huge 10-yard loss. Missouri got a field goal on the drive, but could have scored a touchdown that would have kept them in the game.

What it means: Navy posted a 10-win season for only the third time in the 129-season history of the program and for the first time since 2004 as they emphatically proved they can play with BCS-level schools. Missouri’s loss put a disappointing conclusion in a game that really wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. The Tigers need to get more consistency from Gabbert and improvement from a defense that couldn’t seem to adjust to the Midshipmen’s triple-option despite having nearly a month to prepare for the bowl game. With Nebraska loaded for next season, the Tigers will be challenged to maintain pace with them in 2010.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Here's a group of the best letters I received this week. Thanks again to all who contributed.

Matt from Orlando, Fla., writes: Tim, I love your blogs, especially during the off season reading them religiously. My question is, a few months ago you gave Nebraska the edge over Kansas. Yes you said you reserve the right to change your mind which is totally understandable. But I find it funny how you change your mind on Nebraska winning the North and saying that Kansas will all because of one player leaving Nebraska.

Yes, Quentin Castille was a big feature in Nebraska's offense. However, one player should not make or break a team. Don't count out Roy Helu Jr., who happens to be our STARTING RB. Plus our nasty defensive line that kept pressure on Kansas QB Todd Reesing (who couldn't handle it last year). Could you tell me why one player leaving made you change your mind on a great prediction?

Tim Griffin: I figured I would be answering this question, considering I got it in one form or another from about 40 people this week. Heck, one of my favorite members of the media in Omaha compared me to John Kerry earlier this week because of my late change.

Let me first say that my edge for Nebraska over Kansas wasn't ever that large to start with. I favored Nebraska as much for Kansas' tough cross-divisional schedule as anything else. It's going to be a bear for the Jayhawks to win any of those three games against Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. It still will.

But I also think Castille's dismissal will affect the way that Nebraska plays offense. With Castille and Helu, they had the best combination of backs in the North Division. They would be able to dictate the tempo for the Cornhuskers. It would take off pressure from an iffy passing game led by untested junior-college transfer Zac Lee.

Also, Helu is bigger and stronger this season. But he also appears to be more susceptible to muscle pulls - he's already missed a few days of fall practice - and the depth at the position has contracted with Castille's dismissal. They have only other back with college experience as a running back in Marcus Mendoza.

As anybody who reads this blog on a regular basis knows, I have a lot of respect for the job that Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson does. He was able to put together an explosive offense in Colorado for the Buffaloes' 2001 Big 12 championship that was remarkably like this Nebraska team. He had journeyman quarterbacks in Bobby Pesavento and Craig Ochs, a three-pronged rushing attack in Chris Brown, Bobby Purify and Cortlen Johnson and a stud tight end (to borrow a description from Bo Pelini) in Daniel Graham. The Cornhuskers were similar when Helu and Castille were both on the roster and the five-headed monster they have a tight end probably comes close to matching what Graham meant to the Buffaloes.

But this conference is a lot different in 2009 than it was in 2001. You're going to need to score points in bunches to win. And I think the Cornhuskers need some help at wide receiver to be more explosive to boost the contributions of Menelik Holt, Niles Paul and the rest.

The Cornhusker defense will be just as fearsome as before. Their defensive line might be the conference's best this side of Oklahoma. But losing Castille will tweak how they are able to play offense. And it will make things more difficult for Watson to control games with his young inexperienced quarterback and his lack of explosive playmakers at wide receiver.

It might only mean one game during the course of the season. But as close as I figure the North to be, the Cornhuskers will need that game at the end of the season.

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Jamie Cabela of Midland, Texas, writes: Tim, quick question for you. Who is going to be your surprise player in the Big 12 this season?

Tim Griffin: I'll actually go with two of them. My first will be Markques Simas of Colorado, once he is eligible. I think he's got a great opportunity to become a top receiver immediately for the Buffaloes. And my other choice will Missouri freshman tailback Kendial Lawrence. I've heard some good things about him, even if he is third-string on the Tigers' roster. Look for him to contribute for the Tigers as the season goes on.

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Jim from Grand Junction, Colo., writes: Ignoring the good, competitive games for a minute, which of the "cupcakes" has a chance to pull off an upset against the Big 12 teams in the first two weeks of the season? Any at all? Thanks for your insight.

Tim Griffin: Jim, I don't know exactly what your definition of a cupcake would be, but I'm going to presume you mean a school from outside the BCS-affiliated conferences.

If that's the case, don't look for anything in the first week of the season. But it wouldn't surprise me if two Big 12 teams have troubles in the second week of the season in road games.

I think Kansas State might be tested at Louisiana-Lafayette. I saw a Texas A&M team lose there in 1996 and weird things can happen down at "The Swamp" for unintiated teams that aren't prepared. Also keep an eye on Kansas' trip to UTEP on the same date. The Jayhawks have lost three-straight non-conference regular-season road games. They haven't won a non-conference road game during the regular season since beating Wyoming in 2003. And I think UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe might provide the Kansas defense with some problems.

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Matt Strohm from Parkersburg, Iowa, writes: Tim, with the start of the season only eight days away, I was wondering if you would rank all the Big 12 schools in terms of team entrances.

Tim Griffin: Matt, I don't think I can do justice to them all, but I'll give you a few of my favorites.

Let me say that I'm not usually all that enraptured by the cookie-cutter entrances around college football these days. It reminds me of something you might see in the NBA.

But there's still something about the Nebraska Tunnel Walk that gets me pumped up, although the ones used at the end of the Callahan tenure were pretty lame. I also like the "Running of the Bulls" in Austin for Texas games and the "There's Only One Oklahoma " video that plays at Owen Field before Sooner games.

But for sheer intimidation factor, my all-time favorite still has to be the old-school Iowa entrance when the Hawkeyes used to take the field in a slow walk while holding hands when they were coached by Hayden Fry. I could only imagine what that would look like for an opposing team on the other side of the field.

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David L. Stoudt writes: I'm glad that the Pac-10 officials have deemed "San Antonio a marvelous post-season destination and the Valero Alamo Bowl as one of the nation's elite bowl games."

But I'm wondering did anyone consider asking the fans where they'd rather go. We love heading south to San Diego every year for a fantastic bowl matchup. Who in Hades wants to go to San Antonio in December?

I think this is a huge mistake in judgment and we won't b
e attending those games, regardless of who's playing.

Tim Griffin: I'm also curious about how this affiliation switch will change the dynamics of the Big 12's bowls.

It sounds like the Holiday Bowl's matchup basically will be switching to San Antonio and the Valero Alamo Bowl. Those Holiday Bowls have always been exciting, high-offense games. I think the Pac-10/Big 12 matchup is a good one because both conferences have reputations for offensive football. You see those kind of games in bowls anyway, but I think this makes it even more attractive with those two conferences involved.

It's going to be interesting because the Pac-10 always had a homefield advantage in San Diego. This will switch over when the game moves to the Alamo City.

I realize I'm probably the wrong person to ask about this, but I suggest coming to San Antonio before you make any snap judgments. But I suggest that you take a walk through Southtown. Try the carne guisada tacos with cheese at Taco Haven once or sip a margarita at Rio Rio Cantina on the Riverwalk and tell me that San Antonio isn't a good place for a bowl game.

I'll bet you'll come back with a different answer.

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Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin Want to impress your friends with some arcane Big 12 trivia? Have I got a couple of links for you.  How long has it been since Iowa State returned a kickoff for a touchdown in a home game? The correct answer would be nearly 33 years. The last time an Iowa State player thrilled the home crowd with a touchdown kickoff return was Luther Blue's 95-yarder against Nebraska on Nov. 13, 1976. As of Monday, that streak stretches 11,972 days. The chances that streak could be broken are good this season, considerting that Leonard Johnson is back returning kicks for Iowa State. If he can take one to the house against North Dakota State in the Sept. 3 opener or early in the season, the Cyclones could break the streak before it reaches 12,000 days. "What Leonard did as a kick returner last year encourages you," Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads told the Des Moines Register. "Special teams have the ability to win or lose football games. "Having Leonard back there certainly gives us a chance to advance the program in that regard." Considering Rhoads was only 9 years old the last time a Cyclone broke a kickoff at Jack Trice Stadium, I'm sure he thinks it was too waaaaay too long. Oklahoma has never won a game on a last-second field goal during the Bob Stoops coaching tenure at the school. Stoops' 133-game Oklahoma coaching history has been marked by only five games that were decided late in the game on kicks, according to the Oklahoman. Here's a list of those last-second games for Stoops' teams. Sept. 29, 2007: Colorado 27, Oklahoma 24 Colorado's Kevin Eberhart hits a 45-yarder as time expired in Boulder to stun the No. 3 Sooners. Sept. 16, 2006: Oregon 34, Oklahoma 33 Garrett Hartley's 44-yard kick on the final play of the game is blocked, preserving Oregon's controversial victory over the Sooners. Oct. 30, 2004: Oklahoma 38, Oklahoma State 35 Oklahoma State's Jason Ricks misses a 49-yarder wide left with 11 seconds left that would have sent 2004's Bedlam game into overtime. Dec. 2, 2000: Oklahoma 27, Kansas State 24 (Big 12 title game) Tim Duncan's second field goal of the game, a 46-yarder with 1:25 left, provided Oklahoma with the winning points for Stoops' first Big 12 title. The kick gave the Sooners a 10-point lead and Kansas State scored a touchdown in the game's final seconds.    Dec. 31, 1999: Mississippi 27, Oklahoma 25 (Independence Bowl) Mississippi kicker Les Binkley hits a 39-yarder to beat the Sooners on the final play in the last game of the century. Stoops hasn't had to rely on the pixie dust of "Sooner Magic," yet. But I'm sure he's hoping to be able to conjure up the mystical potion when he needs it, just like his Oklahoma coaching predecessors before him.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin It's been a long time in coming, but Nebraska coach Bo Pelini rewarded the player who might be the most deserving walk-on with a scholarship after a strong season of production. Kicker/punter Alex Henery was among the six Cornhusker walk-on players who have been added to the school's scholarship list, Pelini announced after practice on Saturday. Other Cornhuskers who were put on scholarship include senior wide receiver Wes Cammack, senior linebacker Colton Koehler, senior offensive lineman Derek Meyer, junior tight end Dreu Young and sophomore center Mike Caputo. "It shows that if you come in here and you do the right things, for the football team and yourself, you have a good chance of being rewarded for your efforts," Pelini told reporters after Saturday's practice. "That shows with those six young men.'' The most obvious was Henery, who arguably was one of the most valuable Cornhuskers last season. His dramatic school-record 57-yard field goal against Colorado -- one of four in a 40-31 triumph over the Buffaloes -- helped boost the Cornhuskers into the Gator Bowl. Henery then added four field goals in the bowl game, providing the margin of victory in a 26-21 triumph over Clemson. It capped a season when he converted 26 of 29 field goals. Koehler produced 16 tackles in seven games last season. Young snagged nine passes. And Cammack has been a key producer for the Cornhuskers on special teams each of the past two seasons. Meyer, a recent transfer from Kansas State, and Caputo both are in the two-deep for the Huskers' offensive line. "This is a great group of guys and it is great to be able to have the ability to recognize their contributions by placing them on scholarship," Pelini said. "Each of those guys has shown a great commitment to our football program, and they do things the right way on and off the field."

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin There was an outstanding piece of research that appeared over the weekend in the Altoona (Pa.) Mirror that set out to ascertain a question that has been vexing over the years. Namely, which college deserves the title of "Quarterback U" for its proficiency in producing college players who eventually started games in the NFL? The findings were very interesting, particularly in terms of which schools have produced starting NFL quarterbacks and which ones have not in the modern era, starting with the 1966 season. Purdue earns an argument in the "Quarterback U" debate because its alums have started more NFL games (704) than any other school. Also, Purdue is the only school to have four quarterbacks start at least 100 games (Jim Everett, Len Dawson, Drew Brees and Bob Griese). USC leads the list with 15 quarterbacks who have started at least one game, followed by Notre Dame (13) and Washington (12). The Big 12, with its previous tradition of ground-based offenses in the old Big Eight and Southwest conferences, struggles mightily in this comparison. Here's the list of Big 12 schools and their starting quarterbacks. In a way, the numbers are a little skewed because it credits the starts of former college quarterbacks like Colorado's Kordell Stewart and Missouri's Brad Smith. Both have gone on to pro careers at positions other than quarterback. Here's how the Altoona Mirror stacks up the Big 12 programs in terms of starting quarterbacks and NFL starts. Kansas State (249 games, four starters): Steve Grogan 135, Lynn Dickey 111, Dennis Morrison 2, Dan Manucci 1. Kansas (190 games, three starters): John Hadl 135, Bobby Douglass 53, Frank Seurer 2. Colorado (95 games, two starters): Kordell Stewart 87, Koy Detmer 8. Nebraska (79 games, six starters): Vince Ferragamo 53, Jerry Tagge 12, Bruce Mathison 9, Dennis Claridge 3, David Humm 1, Terry Luck 1. Iowa State (52 games, four starters): David Archer 23, Sage Rosenfels 12, Seneca Wallace 12, Tim Van Galder 5. Texas Tech (47 games, one starter): Billy Joe Tolliver 47. Baylor (45 games, five starters): Cody Carlson 19, Don Trull 15, Buddy Humphrey 5, Cotton Davidson 4, Brad Goebel 2. Texas (44 games, two starters): Vince Young 29, Chris Simms 15. Missouri (18 games, three starters): Brad Smith 13, Steve Pisarkiewicz 4, Gary Lane 1. Texas A&M (16 games, three starters): Edd Hargett 7, Gary Kubiak 5, Bucky Richardson 4. Oklahoma State (14 games, one starter): Rusty Hilger 14. Oklahoma (no games, no starters). The study also credits a quarterback with where he finished school rather than started. So, Troy Aikman is considered to have attended UCLA rather than Oklahoma. As the story points out, it's interesting that a Division II program like Texas A&M-Commerce has been able to turn out three starters -- more than traditional powers Texas and Oklahoma combined. The Big 12's recent ascension as the nation's foremost passing conference will help change these statistics quickly in a few years. Because I'm thinking quarterbacks like Josh Freeman, Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, Robert Griffin and maybe even Austen Arnaud or Zac Robinson will get their shot in the NFL one of these days.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

As promised, here are a few tidbits about the Big 12 teams that were ranked in the preseason Associated Press poll released earlier today.

Texas: Ranked at No.2, the Longhorns return to the top 10 after starting the season No. 11 last season. It's the Longhorns highest ranking since starting the 2005 season in the second slot. As all Longhorns' fans remember, that was the last time that Texas won the national championship.

Texas' 2009 ranking also represents the ninth time in the last 10 seasons that Texas started the season in the top 10. And it also extends the Longhorns' current streak of being ranked in preseason polls to 11 -- longest in school history.

Oklahoma: The Sooners' No. 3 ranking is their highest in the preseason since checking in at No. 2 in 2004. It's also their ninth-straight season in the preseason top 10. The last time the Sooners weren't in the top 10 in the preseason was in 2000, when they were 19th. And as all Sooner fans remember, that was the season they won their last national championship.

Oklahoma State: Tied for ninth with Penn State, the Cowboys have their highest preseason ranking in school history. Their previous high came in 1985 when they were ranked 16th. It is the first time the Cowboys have been ranked in the preseason since 2003.

Nebraska: Checking in at No. 24, the Cornhuskers are ranked in the poll for the first time since 2007, when they were ranked 20th. The Cornhuskers had a record among Big 12 teams with a string of 33-straight seasons when they were ranked in the preseason top 25 from 1970 through 2002.

Kansas: The Jayhawks are ranked No. 25, marking the second-straight season they have been ranked to start the season. It marks the first time in school history that Kansas has been ranked in the preseason in back-to-back seasons.

And here's a list I came up with for Big 12 teams and the last time they were ranked in the preseason AP poll, or their streak of consecutive AP preseason rankings:

• Texas: 11 straight rankings
• Oklahoma: 10 straight rankings
• Kansas: 2 straight rankings
• Nebraska: 1 straight ranking
• Oklahoma State: 1 straight ranking
• Missouri: Last ranked in 2008 preseason poll
• Texas Tech: Last ranked in 2008 preseason poll
• Texas A&M: Last ranked in 2007 preseason poll
• Kansas State: Last ranked in 2004 preseason poll
• Colorado: Last ranked in 2002 preseason poll
• Baylor: Last ranked in 1986 preseason poll
• Iowa State: Last ranked in 1978 preseason poll
  

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

The announcement earlier today by Nebraska coach Bo Pelini that junior I-back Quentin Castille was kicked off the team sent shock waves shooting through the Nebraska program.

The move is potentially very big for the Cornhuskers.

Castille had come on strongly late in his freshman season and was expected to be a big contributor for Nebraska this season. While I doubt he would have beaten out Roy Helu Jr. for the starting job, Castille still would have provided depth and accentuated the team's biggest offensive strength.

It wasn't out of realm of possibility that Castille could have provided 700 or 800 yards from his back-up position. And his departure places further pressure on untested Nebraska starting quarterback Zac Lee.

Castille had been a headache for Pelini in terms of discipline problems throughout his time at Nebraska. He left the program for several weeks earlier in the summer and returned to his home in Texas, professing that the move had made him ready to play under Pelini's rules when he returned.

Also, an arrest warrant was issued for Castille earlier this year after he failed to appear in court on traffic violations. He was later fined for a missing license plate.

"It's pretty black and white, my expectations and what we lay out as a staff," Pelini told reporters when he made the announcement. "And if someone doesn't follow those policies and guidelines, they're no longer going to be with the football team. And that's the case with Quentin."

His departure means there's an immediate opening behind Helu as the Cornhuskers' No. 2 I-back. Freshman Rex Burkhead has looked good in early practices and will inherit the role.

Austin Jones, Dontrayevous Robinson, Lester Ward and Collins Okafor all will be in the mix at running back. None of the backs behind Helu have a carry at the college level.

Also, look for Marcus Mendoza to immediately surface back in the mix at running back after spending the previous time at camp at wide receiver in a move that Pelini claimed was unrelated to Castille's ouster.

"We were moving Marcus back there anyway," Pelini said. "It was more of his choice."

Now, he's got a shot at immediate playing time in the Huskers' backfield -- along with a lot of other players.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

There weren't many surprises when the Associated Press released its media poll earlier this morning with five Big 12 teams ranked in its Top 25. 

Texas is ranked second and Oklahoma third behind defending national champion Florida.

Oklahoma State is tied for ninth, Nebraska returns to the Top 25 at No. 24 and Kansas is ranked No. 25.

It marks the sixth time in the conference's history that five Big 12 teams have been ranked in the AP's preseason poll. The other years were in 2008, 2002, 2000, 1999 and 1996.

Two other Big 12 teams received votes. Texas Tech was ranked 31st and Missouri was tied for 45th.

We've got an ESPN Power Poll which I think will rank right up there with the AP poll. I've always thought the media poll is a little bit more credible than the coaches' poill, mainly because I know that we media members didn't have any sports information directors or football operations directors either voting for us or helping us with our picks. And also, the polls are public record each week at the AP's Web site. I don't see the coaches doing that. And it's their loss.  

I'll be back later today with some factoids about each team and their preseason polling histories.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Let's throw open the mailbag on a Friday afternoon and see what you the readers are thinking and asking me about.

W. Dawson of Dallas writes: Tim, have you looked at Oklahoma State's schedule yet? How can they get away with having eight home games? I can't believe the Big 12 allowed this to happen, much less their competition. This is an incredible advantage, especially given the narrow margins that separate various Big 12 foes. Talk about running downhill before anyone else has snapped the ball.

Tim Griffin: Obviously, Mike Holder and Mike Gundy can do anything they want with their schedule. And it's a good home schedule with the four Big 12 games and home non-conference games against Georgia, Houston, Grambling and Rice. I guess the risk/reward is this. Most coaches want their team to face a non-conference challenge of some kind before they head into conference play. It doesn't have to be especially taxing - Texas going to Wyoming, Kansas to UTEP -- but most coaches believe that kind of experience is good before they head into conference play.

Obviously, Gundy doesn't think like that. The Cowboys will get a huge boost after playing four home games, but he won't know much about how ready his team will be to play on the road for their first trip to Texas A&M on Oct. 10. If I was coaching, I'd like a little more piece of mind before that first conference road game. And I bet Gundy will be thinking that way the week before the game.

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Ocean from Kemah, Texas, writes: Tim, I'm very interested to hear if there has been any shift of momentum due to freshman Chris Whaley's arrival this summer. Also an update on the other Big 12's other freshman prospects would be greatly appreciated.

Tim Griffin: Whaley has struggled keeping up with the other Texas backs after reporting to training camp with an ankle injury that was aggravated playing basketball before he ever arrived. It set him back in his battle for playing time in a crowded Longhorn backfield.

From what I'm hearing, Fozzy Whittaker will be the leading candidate to have more of the carries in the Texas backfield. But he's got to remain healthy, which is something he hasn't been able to do so far. Then, look for veteran Vondrell McGee to have the next shot. Cody Johnson will also be there along with Tre' Newton and Whaley. I look for Whaley to get more playing time as he shows coaches he is more comfortable with his role in the offense and particularly in pass-protection schemes. We'll see that later, rather than sooner for the Longhorns.

And also, look for a post early next week where I'll break down the conference's leading freshman producers so far in training camps.

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Mark M. from Arlington, Texas, writes: I know Baylor is pegged as your eighth team in the conference, but I think even that might be overrated! Why is no one talking about how incredible of a job Jason Smith did protecting Robert Griffin last year? Without his protection, combined with a very challenging non-conference schedule, I think Griffin takes a lot more hits and goes through a sophomore slump. I think they finish last in the Big 12 South as a result. Am I wrong?

Tim Griffin: Your scenario could very easily happen, although I do have the Bears winning six games and making a bowl trip. But I think that watching the Bears' left tackle position will be one of the most interesting positions in the conference.

Obviously, Smith was the best lineman in the conference last season, as evidenced by his No. 2 selection in the NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams. I've heard some great things about his replacement, muscular 6-foot-4, 315 pound former Canadian fireman Danny Watkins. But we won't know anything until he starts hooking up with players like Jeremy Beal, Sergio Kindle and all of the others.  

Watkins' inexperience will be one of Baylor's biggest question marks. And one missed blitz assignment could end the Bears' season in a hurty. Coach Art Briles has to hope that Watkins is ready for the challenge.

But we'll see how he does. It might be the major factor if the Bears are able to go 6-6 and make that elusive bowl trip, or end up in the Big 12 cellar and you hint. The margin between the two is very slim - particularly with the balance in the Big 12.

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Ross Jackman from Sioux Falls, S.D., writes: Tim, I saw the story you linked earlier this week about the conference's most underrated and overrated coaches from that guy in Lincoln. Who is your selection, as the most underrated head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator in the Big 12?

Tim Griffin: Ross, good question. For a head coach, I'll take Kansas' Mark Mangino, who quietly has taken the Jayhawks on their most successful, consistent run in school history. The Jayhawks made back-to-back bowl trips for the first time in school history the last two years and are poised for much more this season.

For my offensive coordinator, I'll take Nebraska's Shawn Watson. The work he did with Joe Ganz the last two seasons was simply phenomenal. Earlier work at Colorado with Gary Barnett's team was outstanding as well. Watson's past history is one of the reasons I think Zac Lee might be better than a lot of people expect for the Cornhuskers. I know he'll be ready, considering Watson's track record.

And for my most underrated defensive coordinator, I'll choose Texas Tech's Ruffin McNeill. The work he did with the Red Raiders to help develop their defense was a big reason the Red Raiders were able to forge a three-way tie for the South Division title last season. He'll have his work cut out trying to replace pass-rushing specialists like McKinner Dixon and Brandon Williams and safeties Darcel McBath and Daniel Charbonnet, but I expect McNeill will have another strong unit again this season.

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Mitch Nelson from Kansas City, Mo., writes: Tim, the Big 12 has four high-profile quarterbacks this year in Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, Zac Robinson and Todd Reesing who will probably finish their college careers after this season. Can you break down who their possible replacements will be and which team has the best chance to not miss a step with a new quarterback next year?

Tim Griffin: I really am hesitant to pick which team has the best quarterback situation in the future because so many of these players don't have any game action. I'd like to reserve my decisions until I get to see some of the young kids play in a little bit of game action. But here's how I see those four schools in the future.

Oklahoma: The leader as far as experience would appear to be redshirt freshman Landry Jones, along with junior John Nimmo and Ben Sherrard. I've heard some good things about Drew Allen, a tall 6-foot-6 thrower from San Antonio Alamo Heights High School. But especially keep an eye out for Blake Bell of Wichita, Kan., a dual-threat thrower/runner who is one of the prizes of the Sooners' 2010 recruiting class. He will be the most heralded quarterback to enter the Oklahoma program since Rhett Bomar.

Texas: As far as promise goes, the Longhorns would appear to have it with Garrett Gilbert who I expect to play as a freshman and beat out Sherrod Harris for the backup role this season. And they also have two more quarterbacks coming in the 2010 recruiting class - Connor Wood of Second Baptist High School in Houston and Case McCoy, the 6-foot-2, 169-pound little brother of Colt McCoy.

Oklahoma State: I know that Gundy actually wasn't that disappointed with Zac Robinson's injury last week because it forced the action in the backu quarterback battle
between junior Alex Case and sophomore Brandon Weeden. Gundy told me he was a little angry that one of the two players hadn't jumped out and taken the backup role. Whoever wins that would appear to be in line to replace Robinson.

Weeden has a little bit more maturity because of his five-season career in minor-league baseball. But Cate has more game experience and comfort in the OSU offense. And the Cowboys also have a commitment from 2010 recruit Johnny Deaton of Sand Spring, Okla., who might be their long-term answer.

Kansas: I think the fact that redshirt freshman Kale Pick has won the backup job is significant here. First, it will enable Kerry Meier to move to wide receiver full time. It will also get Pick more snaps in practice and have him ready in the spring when the opportunity to replace Reesing will materialize for him.

Mangino is also high on a couple of freshmen quarterbacks he has in Christian Matthews, a taller, skinner thrower and Jordan Webb, who kind of looks like Reesing and followed his route by graduating early and reporting to college a semester early to boost his early assimilation into Ed Warinner's offense.

That's all the questions I have time for this week.

Thanks again and have a great weekend.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

I came across an interesting story in Forbes Magazine that provided rankings for the nation's best 600 colleges.

Using methodology developed and compiled by Forbes and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, they came up with a ranking that placed the United States Military Academy at West Point as the nation's top school.

All of the Big 12 schools were ranked among the 600 after using a complex formula that would make developers of the BCS nod their heads in agreement.

Forbes' study was based on three factors: the quality of the education that schools provide, the experience of the students and how much they achieve.

The study indicated it wanted to gauge how a school met its students' needs. In doing that it used a complex methodology that included 25% of the rankings on 4 million student evaluations of courses and instructors, as recorded on the Web site RateMyProfessors.com. Another 25% was based on post-graduate success, equally determined by enrollment-adjusted entries in Who's Who in America, and by the average salaries of graduates reported by Payscale.com.

An additional 20% of the score was based on the estimated average student debt after four years. One-sixth of the rankings are based on four-year college graduation rates -- half of that is the actual graduation rate, the other half the gap between the average rate and a predicted rate based on characteristics of the school.

The final component is based on the number of students or faculty, adjusted for enrollment, who have won nationally competitive awards like Rhodes Scholarships or Nobel Prizes.

See, I told you the BCS organizers don't have anything to be ashamed of when they talk about quartiles and matrices.

Here are the rankings for the Big 12 schools by Forbes, along with estimated per-year costs and freshman class-size listed for each Big 12 school.

Rankings School Rank Cost Freshman class size Texas 174 $21,912 6,718 Colorado 187 $23,261 5,863 Texas A&M 190 $18,895 8,093 Texas Tech 292 $17,405 4,385 Missouri 374 $20,477 5,782 Oklahoma 379 $20,348 3,803 Oklahoma State 401 $18,833 3,073 Kansas 425 $18,446 4,483 Nebraska 463 $17,662 4,200 Kansas State 480 $17,712 3,761 Baylor 483 $39,276 3,761 Iowa State 587 $17,700 4,546

I thought these were some interesting figures that measured some variables that traditionally aren't employed in many of these best college rankings.

So what about the rankings? Is your school as fairly judged in a business magazine as it is on the sports pages?